This week for Rose Café, Dr. Todd Bittner came and spoke of the natural history of Cornell’s Gorges, and the rock/lake formations of Ithaca in general. I was aware of some of the basic events that lead to the geographical formation of present day Ithaca before, but I did not realize the full extent of these processes. For example, I was amazed when he said the most recent ice age covered much of the northeast, and in some parts was 5000ft thick (in comparison Cornell is only around 800ft above see level). The most intriguing aspect of his talk was about the biodiversity in and around Cornell, and I wish he had spoken more about the topic. Being from New York I am used to seeing deer and other animals around, but I had no idea that deer actually cost Cornell thousands of dollars in damage to just the botanical gardens alone. He did mention that some predators such as Bobcats are on the return, but I believe we are a long way off before the deer populations will be naturally managed through predation. Until then keep on hunting (and driving)!